Ashwood Vale

The Old Gods

The Old Gods are headed by the combined deity Ceor-Lilinn. The pantheon focuses on generations. The further down on the family tree a god gets the less potent his/her power becomes.
The Creation story starts with the elder gods Tempan, Meha, Darhq and, Etherkis. In the beginning the four elder gods bond their individual powers together to create the universe, and in so doing they gave up their true forms to each take on a lesser form. Each of them took a different form, Etherkis took the form of a dragon, Meha took on the form of the world. Darhq took on an incorporeal form with ten eyes and Tempan is believed to have taken on a humanoid form.

With their new forms the elder gods had six children; Ceor, Lilinn, Tiber, Fing and, the twins Sabeinn and Nil’loc all of whom took human form. Ceor and Lilinn were born first at the same time. When they first saw each other they fell in love. They combined their essences together to become one being. Tiber was born next followed by Fing. Next were the Twins Sabeinn and Nil’loc. Sabeinn was born first and created the humanoid races after the images of the other gods. Nil’loc was born last. The eldest of the six goods inherited the greatest of their parent’s virtues, Love of creation. Nil’loc inherited none of it. He insanely seeks to destroy everything, but although he is insane he is very intelligent. He realized that the elder gods and his siblings would try to stop him. So he created a series of keys that would allow him to escape his own plane. He created the keys using the souls of the newly created humanoids. When Sabeinn noticed what was happening she confronted Nil’loc, who then attacked and raped her. When their mother and father Etherkis, and Darhq tried to stop Nil’loc; he killed Etherkis and imprisoned Darhq in his throne. Nil’loc continued to rampage killing many lower forms of life and attacking and raping Meha. During his attack on Meha, Ceor-Lilinn was able to rally Tiber and Fing to drive Nil’loc back to his home plane Oblivion. Since the battle severely drained them, none of the other gods wished to follow Nil’loc. Nil’loc was imprisoned on the plane of Oblivion. Meha lapsed into a coma after Nil’loc’s attack and Tempan had left, right after Ceor was born. Since there were no longer any Elder gods to keep order Ceor-Lilinn took control of the pantheon and together they rule over the Gods. Once order was reasserted new gods were born.

Airm’Bonsam is the son of Kemft and Nire. He is the patron god of Merchants and Gamblers. He appears as a large round man with coppery skin and expensive clothes. He always appears unarmed but might be flipping a coin. The Coin is called the Bonsam coin and acts as a +3 weapon. When thrown it severs on a 5-20. If not used to attack the coin can stop one attack/round. On his left hip is a gray pouch that is filled with gems, each gem contains on spell of Airm’Bonsam’s choice and is worth 10,000gp. On his right hip is a plain brown pouch that holds the object of desire for whoever reaches into it. Airm’Bonsam offers Contracts of service to some individuals that he encounters. Once the contract is signed the signer gains special powers. The Powers remain in effect until they die. After death the signer cannot be resurrected in any way due to the fact that Airm’Bonnsam owns that persons soul, and has made a divine servant out of it.

Ceor-Lilinn is actually two gods in one. Ceor and his wife Lilinn combine together to create the entity Ceor-Lilinn. Clerics of Ceor-Lilinn can choose to worship Ceor, Lilinn, or the combined deity. However clerics that worship only Lilinn must be of Lawful alignment.
Ceor (Lawful Neutral) is the god of the moon and Justice. He is the son of Tempan and Meha. Ceor has the following abilities Time stop, Temporal Stasis, and Precognition 3/day once a day Ceor can use Temporal Shield as 10th level spell. Ceor appears as a silver eyed human man with long inky black hair and dark complexion. Mortals that look into his eyes see every crime that they have ever done. There is a 5% chance of insanity whether or not the mortal is innocent. Mortals that have done wrong even something minor must save against despair. Those that make their save must seek out atonement within 1d4+1 days, those that miss instantly give in to despair and fall into a paranoid state where they believe that everyone is out to do them harm. He is dressed in +4 black leather armor and black leather gloves and boots. Ceor’s armor blends into shadow making it nearly impossible to see him. His boots allow him move totally undetected 3 times/night while his gloves double the damage to all back attacks. In his left hand he wields a kris made out of moon beams called the moonlight kris. The moonlight Kris has a damage multiplier of 4. If a criminal is struck with the moonlight kris he must succeed at a Cha save or be killed instantly (murderers receive no saving throw). If the save succeeds the criminal loses half his current hit points. Any lycanthrope merely touched by the Moonlight Kris automatically changes into its Were-form.
Lilinn (Lawful Good) is the goddess of the sun and Marriage. Lilinn appears as a beautiful human woman, with long golden hair and fair complexion. She is dressed in +4 helmless platinum armor that radiates warmth and sunlight. She is armed with a long sword made out of sunlight that has a damage multiplier of 6 (which double against those whom have committed adultery). Her eyes shine with a light so bright that any mortal who looks upon her must save or be permanently blinded. When in combat she can cast one 3rd Rank searing light/round as a free action. When in combat she uses her Long sword in her right hand and reaches out to touch opponents with her left. Her touch acts as a disintegration spell.
When together Ceor-Lilinn appears as humanoid made out of golden sunlight and silver moonbeams. Ceor-Lilinn wields the sunlight sword and the moonbeam kris. Ceor-Lilinn has one Gold eye and one silver mortals that look into them must make saves as if looking into both Ceor’s and Lilinn’s eyes. Anyone that touches Ceor-Lilinn with their bare hand is subject to disintegration.

Darqh is the elder god of astral. He embodies the stars and the spaces between them. Darqh is a dark incorporeal being with ten eyes that shine like stars, each send a different beam. Darqh was imprisoned in the plan of Oblivion, by his son Nil’loc. He is imprisoned in Nil’loc’s Black Crystal throne. In order to be freed Nil’locs Throne must be shattered with the purity crystal.

Ellyrium is the goddess of magic. Little is known about her as she prefers to remain mysteries. She never interferes in mortal affairs, tending not to care whether she is worshiped or not. When she does take action on the prime, she will appear as a faceless woman cloaked and hooded. She attacks with a staff made of mithral. That has a damage multiplier of 3 and casts a random spell whenit hits an opponent. The staff can also reflect any spell cast at its holder back at the caster. Ellyrium takes no damage from magic sources. Ellyrium’s sister Marforia is goddess of the sea. Ellyrium and Marforia will sometimes ally together to accomplish mutual goals.

Fing is the God of the sky. He is seldom seen, but when he is, he appears to mortals as a large middle-aged man with a black and gray beard. In combat Fing uses his +5warbow. In his hands the bow launches arrows at supersonic speeds, having a damage multiplier of 2d4, and creating a sonic boom that stuns everyone within 15ft of the fight path. Fing and his brother Tibar are rivals and oppose each other whenever possible. Although this rivalry is intense Fing and Tibar never come to blows over it.

Hechtim is the son of Sotrek and Marforia. He travels the world causing chaos and discord where ever he goes. While he does not wish for the destruction of everything, he often allies with Nil’loc in order to create a greater level of turmoil. While none of the other gods can prove it, it is believed that hechtim is responsible for releasing Nil’loc from his imprisonment on the plain of Oblivion. Hechtim is often accompanied by an unusually large Imp 5ft tall. The Imp is the imp of the perverse and does the bidding of Hechtim. Hechtim Appears as a small wiry man in +3 leather armor. He wields the Chaos hammer that does damage as a hammer of thunderbolts with the added effect of a confusion spell on everyone within 30ft of its striking point.

The Heimanatite was created from the rape of Sabeinn by Nil’loc. When the Heimanatite was born only two gods could approach her safely Sabeinn and Ceor-Lilinn. Of the three only Coer was able to raise and influence her. Trained by Ceor the Heimanatite is his devoted servant. In Ceor’s name she protects the pantheon from all threats and punishes gods and goddesses that challenge Ceor-Lilinn’s dominance. Cursed by the act that created her the Heimanatite is a creature of destruction. She appears as a 7ft tall humanoid with pale white skin and large apparently completely black eyes. Close examination of her eyes reveals white specks drifting across them. Two ivory horns curve from her forehead to the back of her skull. Her arms end in three talons that gleam silver with ebony veins. The Heimanatite radiates a circle of disintegration that destroys everything in it including her. Fortunately or unfortunately for the Heimanatite her mother’s powers of creation were also imbued into her allowing her to heal the damage almost as fast as it harms her. This causes her skin to appear to flake off occasionally exposing muscle and sometimes bone and creating a smell of dust and ash. Anyone seeing this happen must roll a Charisma save or flee in horror. Anyone within a 5ft radius of or touching her is subject to disintegration. In combat the Heimanatite attacks with her two talons that have a damage multiplier of 3 and drains1d4 magnitudes of life energy from her victums. Her talons are also extreamlly sharp and will sever limbs on rolls of 18-19 and Slay on a roll of a 20. When not doing Ceor-Lilinn’s bidding the Heimanatite wanders the land, from wilderness to city. All natural creatures flee her approach. The Heimanatite can control any Undead of under 18 Magnitude with a standard action and can control undead of greater Mag. with a Successful opposed Charisma check.

Also known as the sage goddess, Ifwonnya is the goddess of learning and craftsmen. She is the daughter of Kemft and Ellyrium. Ifwonnya is responsible for creating and maintaining all of the god’s armor. She values skill and hard work. Her followers are expected to seek out knowledge and wisdom; collecting stories, manuscripts, designs, and blueprints of all kinds. Her temples are more akin to libraries than places of worship. Although very peaceful and tolerant normally, Ifwonnya there is a 10% chance that Ifwonnya will retaliate in an ether covert or overt way to the willful mass destruction of knowledge. I.E. The burning of a library, the destruction of, historical artifacts or all copies of a particular book…

Kemft is Patron god of Bards, Thieves and, Wanders. He is often found traveling roads and trails in the guise of a young man of about 20-25. A lute is always strapped across his back, which he will often play for people that are kind to him. The lute cures all harm and restores all that Kemft wishes back to full health. If he wishes it to his lute can cause harm in a 30ft radius. Kemft is fond of songs and stories and will share them with all that will listen. Innkeepers, constables or anyone else that treat Kemft harshly or unfairly will likely find valuables missing after he leaves. Kemft is armed with a Dirk and a long sword. The dirk has a damage multiplier of 2 and acts as a &plus;3 dagger of venom with a critical threat range of 17-20. The long sword is +3 has a damage multiplier of 4 and casts otto’s irresistible dance on all that are hit by it. The sword will also attack on its own while Kemft is singing.

Marforia is the sister of Ellyrium the goddess of magic. The both share the preference to be mysterious. But where Ellyrium is unconcerned about the mortal world Marforia takes pleasure in playing with Mortals that sail on her waters. Many sailors offer sacrifices to Marforia for safety on the water. Marforia may or may not respond to the prayers of even her clerics. Clerics of Marforia are notoriously hostile and unpredictable making and breaking deals, contracts and, partnerships; however clerics of Marforia are always more hospitable to clerics of Ellyrium.
In Combat Marforia appears as a beautiful woman with blue skin, green hair and sea green eyes. Those looking into her eyes must save vs. Cha or kiss her. Those Marforia kiss drown. Marforia attacks with a spiked mace that has a damage multiplier of 4 and has a chance 20% of crushing anything it hits.

Meha is the Elder god of Earth. She is responsible for the creation of animal life and for all terrain activity. Meha does not speak or appear to anyone. She is catatonic and has been since Nil’loc’s rampage.

Also known as Soterk’s Hound or the Hound of Death, Newg travels the world through the ethereal stalking both the wicked and cowards and consuming their souls. Given Newg’s propensity for preying the wicked Ceor-Lilinn tend to ignore the hound but have been known to intervene on occasion to save an innocent victim.

Nil’loc the destroyer is an insane god whose ultimate goal is to destroy the universe. He has two forms that of a 8ft tall human in Black plate armor that absorbs light armed with, a spear and a Black shield. The spear has a damage multiplier of 4 and all creatures it hits must save against fear and again against insanity (combined wis/int Mods. 20). Anything that touches his shield must save or be destroyed. His other form is that off an annihilation dragon. At least once every million years Nil’loc comes close enough to destroying everything that all the reasoning Gods ally against him. Every time he is defeated he retreats to his Plane of Oblivion which is then closed off from the rest of the planes. Oblivion plane is closed until a mortal is able to enter the plane using a Key of Nil’loc. Nil’loc created the Keys and scattered them around the prime material when he was first born.

The Keys of Nil’loc: in order to protect the Keys form harm, each key was broken into two parts called a Nil token and a Loc token. Each token will only function in the hands of mortals and each token will only form a key with its opposite Nil or Loc token. The Keys were created by tearing in half 871 innocent humanoid souls that Sabeinn had created. Each half was placed into a Nil token and a Loc token (1742 tokens) linking the two tokens together. Then Nil’loc then melded a part of his spirit with each pair Tokens, making them Keys. Both Nil tokens and Loc tokens have magical properties that they imbue into the mortals that pick them up. There is a save for the Geas but those that refuse the Quest are stripped of their new powers and take 1d3 levels in negative energy drain.

Nil Tokens: Imbue on the mortal &plus;1 Regeneration, SR 10, DR+2/10, +20 resistances to all elements, and a geas to find its matching Loc Token w/ the ability to sense where it is. This geas is overriding and must be carried out immediately. Characters that accept this quest will not stop until it is complete or they are dead.

Loc Tokens: Imbue on the mortal &plus;1 Regeneration, Mass Dominate, Mind Blank, +1 increase to primary attributes, and a geas to find its matching Loc Token w/ the ability to sense where it is. This geas is overriding and must be carried out immediately. Characters that accept this quest will not stop until it is complete or they are dead.
Once the Key is made the carrier is transported to the void where the only permanent gate into Oblivion exists. The Key will transport the wielder to the gate in 1d4 rounds.

The Legion of the Void: The Oblivion Plane is home to his army the Legion of the void, 1000 monstrous minions. Demons with 4 arms two of which end in large pincers, heads with hawk like beaks and barbed tails. Each member of the Legion is outfitted with adamantine Armor, Steal Plated Mithral shields (10 Spell levels), Spears of annihilation and, a marble of Expanding Annihilation. 1 in every 100 carries a Greater Marble of Expanding Annihilation.

Nire is the daughter of Tibar and god of Forest woodlands and There Creatures. She often travels as a large She Wolf and leads a pack of 3-30 dire wolves. In human form she appears naked, as a beautiful woman with wild shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. Anyone who looks into her eyes most save vs. Polymorph other spell or be turned into a dire wolf and join her pack. Nire has a Short temper and is likely to attack if only slightly provoked; she has been known to hound people who have only mildly offended her for days. Nire is protective of her clerics and every time one is killed there is a 5% chance that she will avenge them.
Whether in Wolf form or in human form, Nire will never attack with a weapon. Druids with solely magic ranks that follow Nire progress in unarmed attack damage as if they were combat Ranked.

Rennug is the son of Nire and Nil’loc. He is the progenitor of all lycanthropes he is a wild beast that lives for the hunt. Unlike the lycanthropes he creates he is incapable of rational thought and always follows his wild instincts. He appears like a gorilla or yeti at a distance being long of limb and very shaggy but within 50ft his elongated snout with long canines and hands wickedly clawed with 8 inch talons makes it impossible to mistake him as a gorilla or yeti. Once Rennug starts to stalk his prey he will not stop until it is dead or he is confronted by silver weapons. Rennug haunts the wilds and will attack any party he comes into contact with, however silver weapons can usually be used to drive him off.

Sabeinn is the twin sister of Nil’loc. She is credited with the creation of all the humanoid races. She has the power to create anything she wishes to once per day. When Sabeinn interacts with mortals she appears as a translucent middle aged woman with hair that is constantly lifted by a nonexistent wind. Sabeinn is very peaceful and will not fight under any circumstances. When attacked the attacker is automatically teleported to a random plane unless somehow negated. At will Sabeinn can cure any aliment done to another within the last two years. Followers of Sabeinn tend to be treaty negotiators, or reclusive monks. Clerics of Sabeinn are forbidden to use any kind of weapon, and are also forbidden to defend themselves when attacked. Clerics that break these tenets are immediately expelled for the order with no chance of reinstatement.

Soterk appears to mortal as their embodiment of physical perfection wearing +4 vampiric plate mail armor. Loves killing and battle. He is always inside the heaviest fighting. He fights with two weapons a long sword and a battle axe. His +4 long sword has a damage multiplier of 4 and causes the victim to attack a random individual. His +4 Battleaxe has a damage multiplier of 5 and cuts of a random appendage every hit. Soterk and Ceor-Lilinn hate each other and will do everything they can to impede the other.
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Strifes

Divine Spirits

The Strifes are spirits of destruction taking the form of natural disasters. There are thousands of Strifes and they can vary in intensity from a hurricane to a severe wind storm or minor flood. The Strifes were born from Nil’loc and Meha.

Tempan is the Elder God of Time. He is the father of Ceor. Tempan is extremely reclusive not answering any prayers no matter what is sacrificed. The only way to make contact with Tempan is to enter the plain of tempus and go to his throne. The Plain of Tempus is a closed plane that is only enterable in one place at one time. Since no mortal has ever seen Tempan it is unknown what he looks like. But most scholars believe that he is humanoid, since it is know that he wields the dagger of time and the scimitar of destiny.

Tibar is known to travel the wilderness in the guise of an old man with a walking staff. He maintains the neutrality in all things. Unlike his daughter Nire, Tibar is not vengeful and will not seek revenge against wrongs done to him. Tibar is tolerant of all those around him and can endure any insult, disrespect and criticism. There is one exception regarding his brother Fing. Tibar will oppose his brother whenever possible. However although this rivalry is intense Fing and Tibar never come to blows over it. Tibar will only fight if attacked or against any perversion of nature such as undead creatures. Tibar takes half damage from physical weapons. Traveler that he observers treating nature with respect will often be rewarded with healing or divine guidance, travelers that he find’s disrespecting nature often find themselves facing the worst nature has to offer.